Two fires raced through a Sydney nursing home Friday, killing four elderly people and critically injuring 14 as firefighters crawled through blinding smoke to rescue victims. Police were investigating whether it was arson.

The fires broke out in separate parts of the complex, and homicide detectives were looking into whether they were deliberately set, a police statement said. Fire Assistant Commissioner Jim Smith said sniffer dogs would search the ruins for traces of gasoline.

A total of 88 patients were evacuated from the single-story building in suburban Quakers Hill as firefighters searched rooms on their hands and knees for patients, many of them bedridden and suffering from dementia, Fire Commissioner Greg Mullins said.

"This is a firefighter's worst nightmare," Mullins said. "Turning up to a nursing home with elderly people who can't get themselves out of harm's way." Read the full story.